Sunken tug boat off North Myrtle Beach coast recovered. Boat inspection to happen next

Terri Richardson
·1 min read

The sunken tug boat off the coast of North Myrtle Beach has been recovered and is being towed to a shipyard in South Carolina, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday.

Salvage efforts on the submerged push tug Jacqueline A began Aug. 15 and was expected to go through Aug. 25. However, the Coast Guard said that the boat was successfully lifted, de-watered and prepared for movement Monday, according to a Facebook post.

A 59-foot sunken push tug off the coast of North Myrtle Beach was recovered Monday and will be towed to a shipyard in South Carolina, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday.
A 59-foot sunken push tug off the coast of North Myrtle Beach was recovered Monday and will be towed to a shipyard in South Carolina, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday.

The tug was inspected to ensure it was safe to move and it will be further inspected at the shipyard, the post said. It is still not clear what caused the boat to sink.

The half-mile safety zone that was implemented around the sunken boat is no longer in effect, the post said.

The 59-foot push tug boat was sank Aug. 8 about 2.5 miles offshore of North Myrtle Beach. The boat was in about 30 feet of water off Crescent Beach and contains 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board, according to the Coast Guard.

Three crew members were rescued by Horry County Fire Rescue.